S.Korean stocks recover tracking China rebound

SEOUL, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korea’s KOSPI stock index recovered from early falls to close higher on Friday, tracking a rebound in Chinese equities after regulators pledged steps aimed at calming markets and supporting struggling firms. The Korean won strengthened, while bond yields rose. ** The KOSPI closed 7.95 points, or 0.37 percent, higher at 2,156.26 after declining 1.4 percent earlier. For the week, it slipped 0.3 percent, in its third straight weekly fall.

** The Shanghai Composite index surged 2.5 percent after China’s securities regulator unveiled a series of measures to aid the country’s struggling stock market. Earlier in the day, the index hit a near four-year low. ** The comments from regulators came ahead of the release of China’s GDP figures, which showed the economy grew 6.5 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, below expectations and its weakest pace since the first quarter of 2009. ** SK Innovation Co Ltd, owner of South Korea’s top refiner SK Energy, slid 3.4 percent. Crude oil prices were trading higher after two consecutive days of falls.

** The won was quoted at 1,132.1 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.27 percent firmer than its previous close of 1,135.2. The currency fell 0.1 percent on a weekly basis. ** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,131.86 per U.S. dollar, up 0.5 percent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being asked at 1,113.4 per dollar. ** MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.31 percent, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with losses. Japanese stocks weakened 0.56 percent. ** The KOSPI is down around 12.9 percent so far this year, and down by 6.89 percent in the previous 30 days. ** The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend yield is 1.28 percent and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04 trillion won. ** The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index was 343,437,000 shares and, of the total traded issues of 897, the number of advancing shares was 395. ** Foreigners were net sellers of 171,758 million won worth of shares. ** The U.S dollar has risen 6.14 percent against the won this year. The won’s high for the year is 1,053.55 per dollar on April 2, 2018 and low is 1,146.26 on Oct. 11, 2018. ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds fell 0.06 points to 108.51. ** The Korean 3-month Certificate of Deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.69 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean treasury bond yielded 1.992 percent, higher than the previous day’s 1.98 percent. (Reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)